Too Much at Once
by cause.A.scene
Summary: Basically, this is a "what if" story. What if Reid's gunsot wound in "Facelss, Nameless" was a bit more serious? Slight AU to part of "Faceless, Nameless" so, spoilers for that episode. Enjoy! Complete!
1. Chapter 1

**AN: **So this is unlike me because I usually do not do AU's. Buuut... I rewatched "Faceless, Nameless" and it suddenly became so obvious: I had to write this. Done :) So anyway, here is my idea on what could have happend.

**Warning: **Major spoilers for "Faceless, Nameless" - the season opener for Season 5. Also, this starts from the point right before Reid gets shot, so if yo aren't familiar with this episode, the beginning of this story may be a bit odd. Other than that, this is unbeta'd so the mistakes are mine. That's it, I think.

**Reminder of what's going on right before the story starts:**

The team is working a case in which an unsub is taunting a doctor by saying he'll kill the doctor's son, and is signing his messages with "L.C." At this moment, Rossi, JJ and Morgan are at the son's school, Hotch and Prentiss are at the hospital (Hotch has been stabbed by Foyet) and Reid is at the doctor's house. Emily, having just spoken to a nurse after seeing "L.C." on a clipboard in the hospital, discovers that it stands for "Living Children." She has just called Reid to tell him this, and that's where the story picks up:

Enjoy!

* * *

Reid held the phone to his ear, processing the information Emily had just told him. His mind worked a mile a minute, wondering briefly why he had not considered the prospect of L.C. standing for 'living children' earlier but he only come up with the solution that he needed to invest some time in the study of medicine. Despite this, a startling, but obvious new possibility arose:

"What if the UnSub was trying to tell Dr. Barton that _he _is actually the target and that he was going to leave his son without a father…?"

Emily did not answer right away, but the fear of this possibility had already engulfed Reid and had him flying out the door to catch Dr. Barton. If this theory was right, now would be an opportune moment for the unsub to strike seeing as how most of the attention would be on Jeffry's school, not his home.

With his phone still in hand, Reid rounded the corner through the open front door just in time to see the unsub standing in the yard, a gun in hand and being aimed at Dr. Barton's head. And, given the profile, Reid did not need to hear the sound of a gun being fired to know what was about to transpire.

Perhaps it was just programmed into him after becoming a Federal agent, but without a moment's thought, Reid's body flung itself forward with the intention of knocking the doctor from the trajectory of the oncoming bullet. As expected, a single shot rang out right before Reid's body collided with the doctor's and sometime in between that moment and when he hit the ground, Reid felt a slight pinch in his stomach.

After a very brief moment to catch his breath, Reid realized that the pinch was more than that. He had been shot. With a warmth now growing across his abdomen but the pain still pushed aside by adrenaline, Reid seized the opportunity to grab his gun and point it right at the unsub. However, even with the adrenaline, he was only able to prop himself up with one hand while the other held the gun.

"You don't want to do this," he stated, his voice slightly weaker than he expected.

"He killed my son!"

"No," Reid said, his outstretched arm now becoming increasingly difficult to hold up. "Your son was killed… in a car accident. Put the gun down. This is not what he would have wanted."

Reid watched the grieving man as he had a brief internal battle, but Reid knew that he would not end up surrendering. No, his pain was far too immense for that. Besides, the sound of sirens now filled the air which no doubt catalyzed the man's inevitable choice.

"I'm sorry," he said as his gun aimed once again.

Without another moment's thought, Reid's finger tightened around the trigger, the gun emitted a much hated sound, and the unsub went down. As the smoke from the gun cleared, every bit of air that Reid had been holding in his lungs was released and with it went all of his energy as well. The arm that was holding him up buckled under his weight, leaving Reid lying on his back in the grass.

"Dr. Reid!" Dr. Barton yelled, suddenly kneeling beside Reid. "I need to…"

"No," Reid interrupted, still trying to catch his breath. "Go to him. Go to him and take his gun. Make sure he… he can't get it."

Dr. Barton seemed to consider this for a moment, not wanting to leave Reid but then apparently decided Reid's instructions were more important. By this time, however, two ambulances and several cop cars were pulling up, filling the street around the home.

"I need a back board and a C-collar," Reid heard Dr. Barton calling to the first set of paramedics. "GSW to the chest cavity. Have them redline him to the O.R. stat!"

As the doctor began running back to Reid, the team's black SUV pulled op and Reid was vaguely aware of his friends and colleagues running towards him. Actually, Reid could even seen Jeffery Barton.

"Go… go to your son," Reid tried to say but the pain in his stomach was now reaching critical. "I… I'm fine."

"Reid?!"

"What happened?"

Morgan, JJ and Rossi were now all grouped around him as Dr. Barton kept applying excruciating pressure to his wound.

"GSW the abdomen," Dr. Barton responded.

"Oh my God," Reid heard JJ say.

Reid's mind was beginning to fog over. He felt chills starting climb up his spine and knew he was going into shock. But there was something he had to tell his team. Something very important. He focused his eyes on the people standing around him.

"Emily," he gasped, still desperately holding onto consciousness. "Call Emily. F-find Emily."

"Where is she?" Rossi asked, concern clear in his voice.

"H-hopsital." Reid said, then took a deep breath. "Something's happened to Hotch."

Several things then happened at once: his team began to exchange glances, paramedics were now surrounding him, Dr. Barton was shouting something but all the while, nausea enveloped Reid. The sky above him began to tilt, his face felt extremely hot and he suddenly knew what was about to happen. He threw himself onto his side to the best of his abilities and vomited, knowing that all eyes were on him. This, unfortunately, meant that they all witnessed the fresh, bright red blood now dripping from the corner of his mouth.

* * *

Morgan stood amongst the multitudes of evacuating children, ensuring that they all safely boarded the buses and the school was cleared out. The last thing the country needed was another school shooting of any level, even if the shooter only intended to kill one student. Of course, the team had already established that the unsub would likely take as many out as many as possible which explained the vast number of police and agents surrounding the school and the buses.

"Single file, everyone," he said calmly, trying to mask the sense of danger that could very well be surrounding them. But they didn't know this. Or, they didn't know just how bad it was. It didn't take a genius to know that something was wrong but they did not know a deranged gunman could be hiding around the corner.

The anxiety began to fade, however, as the final student loaded a bus and it pulled away, leaving a parking lot filled with police and Federal agents. Now came the hard part: getting Jeffery Barton safely into his getaway vehicle.

Everyone moved into position, just as they had planned, the car pulled around to the front and Derek, Rossi and four police officers surrounded the teen until he was safely in the car. No sooner had the door shut did one of the officer's radio crackle.

"We've got a shooting at 120 Kensington Road. Federal Agent down."

Morgan's heart nearly stopped. That was Barton's address and there were only two Federal Agents in that house and he knew and cared for both. He looked over at Rossi and JJ and saw the same look. Morgan quickly looked at the officer who thankfully seemed to know exactly what Derek was thinking.

"Go," the officer said. "We've got this."

They didn't need to be told twice. Morgan, JJ and Rossi all darted for their SUV, anxious and scared to discover what had happened at the house. As Morgan raced through the streets of the small Virginian town, all he could think about was how they had just left Reid and Prentiss there alone with no other backup. True, they had been sure that if the unsub was going to strike, it would be at the school and yet that obviously hadn't happened.

Nearly the whole way there their SUV was surrounded by several cops cars and even ambulances. As they neared the home, which was only blocks away from the school, Morgan felt his stomach and jaw clench. Cop cars and ambulances already lined the street in front of the home and he wasn't sure, but Derek thought he could see people standing in the yard. Is that where it had gone down?

Morgan whipped the car into the drive way, coming to a stop behind Jeffery's car and caught his first glimpse of the situation.

He first looked at the paramedics who were grouped around a body on the ground that was obviously neither Prentiss nor Reid. But closer to the house laid another body that was dressed in a light pink shirt.

"Reid!" JJ yelled and she and the rest of them raced toward Reid and Dr. Barton.

"What happened?!" Morgan asked quickly.

"GSW to the abdomen," Dr. Barton responded, his hands still pressed against Reid's stomach.

"Oh my God," JJ breathed, putting her hand over her mouth.

Morgan was sick and tired of always seeing Reid in horrible situations, mostly recently it was anthrax, and now this. The kid looked horrible and Morgan was sure he could see Reid visibly growing paler by the second. The growing amount of blood around Dr. Barton's hands was not too reassuring but it also didn't appear to be quite excessive enough to imply a major artery or some other organ that would cause him to quickly bleed out had been hit.

As Morgan continued to watch him, he noticed Reid trying to gain better focus before he attempted to speak.

"Emily," he breathed. "Call Emily. F-find Emily"

It then hit Morgan. Where was she? Was she also hurt and if not, why had she left him here alone?

"Where is she?" Rossi asked, mirroring Morgan's thoughts.

"H-hospital," Reid grunted, visibly growing weaker. "Something's happened to Hotch."

Morgan frowned. Hospital? Hotch? What was going on? But before he had time to even attempt to piece it all together, he was getting pushed aside by the paramedics and right before he lost sight of Reid, he witnessed the kid flip onto his side and vomit. This had apparently expelled all energy that he had been maintain because he promptly collapsed onto his back and fell into what Derek assumed to be shock. However, the thin line of blood running from his open mouth was not lost on any of them.

"GSW to the abdomen. Have them redline him to the O.R.. Make sure they have a bed open for both of them and if not, you make sure Agent Reid goes first," Dr. Barton said.

Morgan, despite his concern and confusion, felt a sense of gratitude towards the doctor. Derek wasn't positive but he was pretty sure that the man could not choose the order of the patients; it was simply supposed to be determined by who was in worse condition.

It didn't matter now though. The medics were already loading Reid onto the stretcher and rushing him to the ambulance. Morgan, JJ and Rossi followed behind them while Dr. Barton, after looking at his blood-stained hands, went straight to his son.

"I'm going with him," JJ announced before slipping into the back of the ambulance.

Derek stood with Rossi, who already had his phone out, and watched as Reid's ambulance pulled away with its sirens blaring.

"Emily," he began. "What's going on? Where's Hotch?" Rossi asked right away but before she really had time to answer, Rossi was speaking once again. "He was shot in the abdomen. He's being rushed to the hospital now, we don't know anything yet. Now where are you?"

Rossi listened to her for a moment while Morgan waited anxiously. He either wanted to know what the hell was happening or else be speeding towards the hospital where he at least knew Reid would be.

Rossi quickly hung up, however, and started off toward the SUV.

"Hotch is at the same hospital Reid is going to," he said as they both got into the vehicle, Rossi driving this time. "He was apparently stabbed. He's stable but she believes it was Foyet."

Morgan felt anger accompanied with several other emotion stir up in the pit of his stomach. Hotch stabbed by Foyet and Reid shot and coughing up blood. This was just way too much and all at once.

* * *

**EN: **Hope you guys like it so far and as far as an update goes... not sure when I'll get too it but it will definitely be within the next week, but before next weekend because I'm going to a Jimmy Buffett concert which is an all day thing! Ha and then very next day I'm seeing the Goo Goo Dolls! I'm beyond excited at this point!!


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: **Well, I'm honestly not in love with this chapter but I felt like it was necessary. Also, I took some dialougue from "Faceless, Nameless" so if it seems familiar, it probably wasn't my writing. However, I think it will get better after the chapter and I won't have to stay as clase as possible to canon. So hopefully you'll stick around even if you don't particularly like this chapter either.

**Warning: **Spoilers from "Faceless, Nameless"

Enjoy!

* * *

Emily's heart wouldn't stop pounding. Reid had been shot and she wasn't there. No one else had been there at all. While she didn't necessarily regret going to the hospital to be with Hotch and staying there, she also couldn't help but think about how she had left Reid and Dr. Barton there with absolutely no one else and now Reid was shot and she had heard the gunshot that did it.

She paced around Hotch's room, glancing his way every now and then. She had so badly wanted him to wake up before but now she wondered if it would be better for him to remain unconscious at least until they knew Reid was okay.

_If _he was going to be okay…

Emily sighed and pressed her hands tightly against her face. Could she have stopped this?

The minutes seemed to pass by like hours. She had no idea what was going on with Reid and the rest of the team. Rossi hadn't explicitly said that Reid would be taken to this hospital, but she assumed that he would be. It was the closest to Dr. Barton's house, after all. Come to think of it, Rossi had been exceptionally short with her on the phone. Had it simply been the situation or was he upset with her for leaving Reid?

It was Hotch, though. Should she have left him? He was stable and she knew he was going to be asleep for a while so she could have left and went back to Reid… The most she thought about it, the more certain she was that she had screwed up.

"Emily!"

Emily turned around to face the hallway and saw Rossi and Morgan quickly heading her way.

"How's Reid?" she asked as soon as they were close enough.

"We don't know yet," Morgan replied quickly. "He's been taken up to the O.R. but JJ's with him. How's Hotch?"

Emily sighed, her mind now filled with grim thoughts. "Um, he still isn't conscious yet."

"Are you sure it's Foyet?" Rossi asked.

Emily half-nodded. "He had Morgan's credentials."

"Did they catch him on the security cam?" Morgan asked.

"You can see him dropping Hotch off but the cameras are only on the entrances so I have no idea which way he went once he left the hospital," Emily answered.

Just then, Hotch's doctor approached them from his room. "Agents, he waking up now but he's weak, so don't push him."

"We won't mention Reid," Rossi said quickly before they turned to enter Hotch's room. "Not yet."

They all nodded and quickly surrounded Hotch's bed. Emily watched as his eyes moved beneath his eyelids before they eventually opened to form small slits.

"Where am I?" he asked.

"You're in the hospital," Rossi answered softly.

"How did I get here?"

"Foyet drove you," Morgan replied. Emily bit her lips, hating that Hotch had to deal with this information so soon after waking up but they needed to know because Foyet was still out there.

"Do you remember what happened?"

Just then, JJ entered the small room and though they all wanted to ask her about Reid, they all knew to keep the focus on Hotch. So they listened to Hotch relive the basics of what happened, and after finding out what Foyet took (a page from the address section of his day planner) and finding the picture of Haley and Jack in his wallet, they all knew what was happening. Foyet knew where Haley and Jack lived.

Everything happened at once: Rossi, JJ and Morgan were all suddenly on their phones, calling Garcia, local police and who Emily assumed was the SWAT team. Once JJ got the address of Haley's home from Garcia, Morgan and Rossi relayed the information to the agencies they were talking to and then hung up.

"We'll get them," Morgan said, giving a strong nod.

Rossi and JJ gave Hotch one last look before beginning to walk out. Emily began to follow but Rossi stopped and turned to her.

"Stay here with him," he said quickly. "He does not need to be left in the dark right now. We'll keep you updated."

Emily nodded then turned to JJ. "How's Reid?"

"Still in the O.R. Check on him when you can and keep us…," she trailed off. Emily knew exactly what she was going to say, however, and also knew why she didn't complete the sentence: they needed to focus on keeping Haley and Jack safe, even if that meant temporarily pushing their concern for Reid aside. Emily was suddenly reminded of the anthrax incident when none of them knew how Reid was doing until after they caught the unsub. None of them liked it, but that was their job.

Emily nodded and watched as all three of them turned to leave. She waited for a moment before returning to Hotch who was staring at the ceiling.

"They'll find them," Emily said, not knowing what else to say and hoping like hell that she was speaking the truth.

Hotch didn't say anything but nodded gently. Emily looked around and didn't know what to do. She wanted to go find where Reid was, knowing that there would be no new information on Haley anytime soon so now would be a good time to leave. On the other hand, she didn't know if she should be leaving Hotch right now.

"Um," she started, "is there anything I can do for you?" she asked. "Anything you need?"

He looked at her for a moment, then back up at the ceiling. "No."

Emily bit her lips. "Well, I think I'm going to… get some coffee real fast. Is that okay?"

Hotch looked back down at her again and suddenly Emily knew he was seeing right through her. Sometimes she really hated working with profilers.

"Where's Reid?"

Emily froze. She had no idea what to say. She could try to lie to him or at least avoid the question. She only wished that she knew if Reid was definitely going to be okay or not, but she didn't so that would add to the element of concern greatly.

"He's… he's clearing things up with the last case," she said. "They had just solved it before they got here. I'll be right back…," she said, turning to leave.

"Prentiss."

Emily stopped mid step. She hadn't even made it out of the room before Hotch called her name. He knew something was wrong. She slowly turned around to face him.

"Where is he?"

She licked her lips and looked around the room quickly. "Hotch… you need to rest and…"

"Prentiss," he said, sounding more serious than ever. "This is my agent we're talking about here. If there is something wrong with him, I need to know."

"Yes, but…," she began, but realized it was futile. "He's in surgery," she resigned. "It was the case we just finished. The unsub was supposed to be going after the victim's son so everyone was at the school while Reid and I stayed at the house with the victim. But I left to find you and… turns out the unsub was actually after the father and… all I know is Reid was shot in the abdomen and that he's in surgery at this hospital."

"And you're going to check on him?"

"Yes sir," Emily said softly. "Unless you need me to stay."

Hotch nodded slowly. "Go. Let me know how he is."

"I'll be right back sir."

She then turned around and at a near jogging pace, continued to the elevator where there was a list of the different floors and what was on them. She searched the list quickly and saw surgery was on level two, then got in the elevator and went up one story. When the doors opened, Emily immediately proceeded to the information desk.

"Special Agent Spencer Reid?" Emily said, not bothering with pleasantries.

The woman behind the desk, apparently sensing the urgency, swiftly consulted her computer.

"He's in room 12a, still in surgery," she said kindly before gesturing to a nearby group of chairs. "If you would like to have a seat over there…"

"I can't," Emily interrupted her. "You see, we have two agents in here right now, one down in recovery, but I'm the only one here so I can only be with one of them at a time. But I have to stay downstairs in case a very important phone call concerning our current case comes in, but I really need to be here for Agent Reid as well."

The woman behind the desk bit her lip and Emily appreciated that she was at least trying to solve the problem.

"Wait," she said after a moment. "Were you guys working on Dr. Barton's case?"

"Yes!" Emily said quickly, realizing this information may help her get information faster. "In fact, Agent Reid was shot by the man who was trying to kill Dr. Barton."

"Oh!" the woman blurted out, her eyes growing wide. "He's the one who jumped in front of the bullet?!"

Emily frowned. Is that what had happened? "Where did you hear that from?"

"Word gets around," the woman said simply. "Dr. Barton is here and I'm pretty sure he went to check on someone himself. It must have been your agent!"

"Yeah," Emily said, her mind wandering now. She hadn't even considered the possibility of Reid taking the bullet for Dr. Barton. For some reason it changed things.

"Well," the woman started, looking around as though she didn't want anyone to see. "Seeing as how your agent helped my colleague, I figure the least we can do is return the favor. As soon as Dr. Barton comes back, I'll send him to your other agent's room and hopefully he'll have some information to give you. How about that?"

Emily smiled, suddenly feeling relieved. "That would be so amazing. Thank you!"

"Of course," she said sweetly. "Now, what is the name of this agent?"

"Special Agent Aaron Hotchner."

"Aaron… Hotchner…," she repeated as she wrote the name down before looking up at Emily. "Got it. I will send him down as soon as I see him."

"You've made things so much easier on me!" Emily said truthfully. "Thank you again."

"Not a problem. Now you go back to your friend!"

Emily smiled in response and, with one last thought about leaving Reid's waiting room and with a quick glance at her phone, Emily got in the elevator and returned to Hotch.

* * *

**EN: **Leaving for Tampa for my concert tomorrow!!! Hehehehe


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: **This [very] early post is a thank you for the many reviews I got. They surprised me and I thank you!

Same warnings as usual, enjoy!

* * *

Dr. Tom Barton stood in the viewing area of the surgical suite with nothing but a piece of glass separating him from the surgeons trying to keep Agent Reid alive. It had been a touch and go process to say the least that had the young agent flat lining once already. Tom sighed and shifted from one foot to the other. The kid looked nearly half Tom's age and yet Agent Reid had taken a bullet meant for him.

Tom knew abdominal gunshot wounds were tricky; sometimes they do surprisingly little damage and sometimes they make it highly difficult, if not impossible, to repair the damage. The power such a small metal object had over the human body was so far beyond Tom that he stopped trying to make sense of it. Either way, one thing was clear: this particular gunshot wound was of the damaging sort.

Tom had spent some time with his son after the incident, but he couldn't help to think non-stop about the condition of his savior. So, Jeffery had agreed to come to the hospital and wait in the break room until Tom knew the fate of Agent Reid. By the time Tom had arrived Agent Reid had already been in surgery for half an hour and that was two hours ago.

The man had truly been extraordinary. He had a mind unlike anything Tom had ever seen but he also looked rather world-weary for a man so young. It was no doubt a byproduct of the horrendous job he was so good at. The whole team had been amazing, of course, the most elite of Federal Bureau and they had certainly proven themselves, especially Agent Reid, fit to hold such a title.

Tom continued to watch and, though not a surgeon, he realized the surgery was coming to an end. The head surgeon, a friend of Tom's by the name of Henry Maltow, was conducting the rest of them as the Agent's incisions were sewn up. This was the moment of truth; would Dr. Reid recover or was the damage to extensive.

Tom observed as Henry stepped away from the surgical table while the rest finished up the job. Once Henry was done shedding his surgeon's attire, he carefully slipped into the viewing room with Tom.

"Tom," Henry greeted with a tone of surprise. "Don't usually see you guys up here. How are things? Jeffery okay?"

Tom nodded with a slight smile. "Yes, everything is alright now. The Feds were brought in and they solved the case, though it was a close call."

"Oh yeah?" Henry asked, crossing his arms and no doubt wanting to hear this story.

"Yeah, turns out the guy was never after Jeffery, he was after me. It was a man whose son was brought in, DOA, and held me responsible for the death," Tom explained before taking a deep breath.

"So, while Jeffery and all of the cops and feds were up at the high school, the guy showed up at my house and tried to shoot me, but the only agent who stayed with me, that man in there," Tom said, gesturing to surgical table that held Agent Reid, "took the bullet and then shot the guy. So, Jeffery and I are safe and I was hoping you could say the same about Agent Reid in there."

"That kid in there took a bullet for you?" Henry asked with wide eyes. "He looks no older than twenty!"

"Yeah, these guys are the real deal. Called Profilers and they're supposed to be the best the FBI has," Tom explained. "I guess that sometimes means unorthodox choices. So, what's the news?"

Henry sighed, no doubt exhausted from a nearly three hour surgery. "He wouldn't stop bleeding for the longest time. We even lost him for a minute there but we managed to find and close up every little knick that bullet made and trust me, there were many."

"So he'll make it?"

Henry half nodded. "He certainly has a good chance but he's got one hell of a recovery ahead of him. He'll be drinking his food for the next month or so, not to mention the pain. But, as long as he can pull through that, he'll make a full recovery."

Tom nodded and felt a great amount of relief fill him. The young man was going to make it after all.

"Thanks, Henry," Tom said then shook his friend's hand. "I might actually be able to sleep tonight."

"After almost getting shot?" Henry asked skeptically. "Well, you're braver than I am. I probably would've wet myself on the spot and I certainly can't imagine jumping in front of a bullet for someone, no offence."

Tom laughed at the comment, remembering that Henry was actually pretty young himself. "Wait until you get a wife and kids, then see how you think."

Henry chuckled at this. "Wife and kids? Not too sure about that, man," he laughed before stretching. "Well, they're going to move him to recovery shortly if you want to stay with him and explain his condition to everyone."

"Yeah," Tom said, thinking it was only fair for him to see Dr. Reid all the way through. Besides, he was sure the people waiting for news on Dr. Reid would be his coworkers that Tom had grown to know and respect. "That would be great. Thanks again, Henry."

"Not a problem," he said as he made his way out the small room.

Tom turned back to observe the progress on Dr. Reid and knew that they were putting the finishing touches on the man. He decided now was as good a time as any to go talk to the rest of the agents while they finished up with their injured friend.

With one last glance at Agent Reid, Tom made his way out of the viewing room and towards the surgical waiting room. He frowned and stopped, however, when he saw that there was no one there. He glanced around the area, just in case they were standing elsewhere, but he still saw nobody. Tom couldn't imagine that none of those Agents cared about the well being of their colleague but either way. No one was there. Not knowing what else to do, Dr. Barton began to make his way back towards Dr. Reid, decided if no one else was going to be there for the young man, he would be.

"Dr. Barton," he heard someone call. Tom turned around and saw that Shiree, the front desk clerk, was the one addressing him. "I have a message for you, Doctor."

"You were checking on that FBI Agent that was shot, right?"

"Yes," Tom replied, curious as to where this was going. "Yes, I was. "

"Oh, well another FBI Agent came up here and said something about she was the only agent still here because there was another important case, but she needed to stay down there with another agent who was injured and is in recovery…? I don't know the full story exactly, but she seemed very distressed that she couldn't be with both of them so, because there was nothing she could do until after Agent Reid was out of surgery, I told her I'd get you go to Recovery and find her. I hope that's alright."

Tom, feeling better about the situation though slightly confused about there being another case so soon after his own, shook his head. "No, that's perfect Shiree. I was trying to find them now to let them know."

"Well?" Shiree said, then continued when it was apparent Tom wasn't sure what she was talking about. "How is he?"

"Oh!" Tom said. "Well, it was a rough surgery but Dr. Maltow said he has a good chance of making a full recovery."

Shiree smiled. "Oh, that's wonderful news! Well, like I said, the agent who came up here is waiting with another agent in Recovery, and his name is," she trailed off in order to read a paper with a name scratched on it, "Agent Aaron Hotchner."

Hotchner? Tom didn't remember meeting a Hotchner. Perhaps he was the topic of the emergency that made the female agent, Agent Prentiss, leave in the middle of Tom's case.

"Thanks, Shiree." Tom said, about to turn and head towards the elevator but stopped. "Oh, could you do me a favor? They should be taking Agent Reid to Recovery soon, so if could page me the room number they'll be taking him to, that would be awesome."

"I can do that!" she said cheerfully.

"Thank you," Tom repeated and then made his way to Recovery on the first floor. Once he got there, he was about to ask where this Agent Hotchner was when he saw several familiar Agents walking into the building at the same time. With them, however, was a distraught looking woman and a young boy. Tom hung back for a moment and watched as the distressed woman entered the room that no doubt housed Agent Hotchner, and soon after, Agent Prentiss emerged.

"Doctor Barton," she said after she saw him. At the moment, the rest of the agents turned to face him as well. "Do you have any news on Agent Reid?"

Tom, now surrounded by the rest of the agents, began to speak. "Agent Reid recently got out of surgery and should be taken here to Recovery soon. While I didn't operate on him, I observed most of the surgery and was told by his surgeon, Dr. Maltow that it was a very rough surgery as the bullet did a great amount of damage to his abdomen. Despite this, they were able to stop the bleeding and Dr. Maltow said that as long as he can handle the recovery, he'll make a full recovery."

"What exactly is the recovery process?" one of the agents (Tom was sure his name was Rossi) asked.

"Basically, certain natural processes, such as eating, moving and using the restroom may become more difficult," Tom explained gently. "For example, he will likely not be allowed to eat solid food for at least a month. A doctor will explain this more thoroughly, of course, but just to give you a general idea. He will also have to find constructive ways to handle the pain in addition to the painkillers."

Tom watched as the agents looked at each other as though they knew something he didn't, but he didn't pry.

"So, that's about all I have to tell you right now," Tom said, but just as he did, he felt his beeper go off. He took it out of its holder and read the message. "Oh, and he's being moved to recovery now and will be going to room 112, which should be right across from Agent Hotchner's room."

This news seemed to relieve them the most and he waited as they all exchanged thanks before starting to disperse. Agent Prentiss, however, stayed behind.

"I owe you an apology," she said to Tom, which took him off guard. "I not only left in the middle of your case, but I also left you and Agent Reid alone. Please understand though, it was only because I knew something had happened to our team leader and had I not left, something very easily could have happened to his family. Normally, I would never perform a job in such a way and had I thought for one second the unsub was going to come to your house, I would not have left. That was an error in my judgment."

Tom shook his head. "Please, there's no need to apologize. I was upset when I found out you had left but Agent Reid was highly efficient in solving the case and even saving my life. Besides, I realize you were in a difficult position between two colleagues and, I'm assuming, friends."

Agent Prentiss nodded. "I appreciate your understanding," she said sincerely. "I just… I'm so happy he's alright. I would've felt so… so terrible had anything happened to either one of you."

"I'm glad he's alright, too," Tom replied truthfully. "Trust me. Now, another doctor will be taking over, but I do plan to come and thank Agent Reid personally when he's awake."

"He'll appreciate that," Agent Prentiss said before she smiled. "It will embarrass him, but he'll appreciate it."

"Well, that's good," Tom said. "Thanks again for your help on my case and I will see you soon, I'm sure."

Agent Prentiss smiled and accepted his offer to shake hands. Tom, satisfied that Agent Reid was safe and would be surrounded by people who cared about him when he woke up, decided to return to his son.

* * *

**EN: **Jimmy Buffett was amazing!! Getting ready to go see the Goo Goo Dolls!!! Ha this will be my fourth concert ever!!


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: **Took a little while but here it is!

**Warning: **I researched as much medical stuff as possible, but I know there will still be things in here that are inaccurate. My apologies!

**Thanks: **Thank you so very much for everyone who has reviewed! It means so much to me and keeps me going so thank you forever!!

* * *

Memory was a funny thing. For Dr. Spencer Reid, it was practically his strongest quality. With an eidetic memory and his abnormally high IQ, he was able to learn copious amounts of information and keep it all stored in his head. It was a blessing and a curse, of course. But even Reid's memory found ways of hiding itself at times, such as in the case of Riley Jenkins, a boy who was killed when Reid was a child. Of course, that had been a matter of the brain oppressing painful memories for Reid's protection as opposed to simply forgetting.

Regardless, memory meant, in most cases, safety for Reid and while, in this particular job, remembering all of the gruesome details of the cases they had worked on wasn't exactly the greatest thing in the world, his memory was overall a major advantage.

Despite the greatness of Reid's memory, he couldn't for the life of him remember what was currently causing the enormous amounts of pain in his stomach or why he couldn't seem to open his eyes. All he knew up until this point was a case with a doctor…

And then Emily left… and then the unsub came to Doctor Barton's house… and then… oh. He had been shot.

But there was something else… Something was missing. Or maybe it was someone…

Reid, through the cloud of confusion, tried to think of everyone in his team. He had definitely seen Emily, JJ, Morgan, Rossi… Hotch! Emily had said Hotch was in the hospital!

Reid forced his groggy eyes open with much difficulty and suddenly became aware of his painfully dry mouth; he had no doubt recently undergone surgery. He looked around the room, still trying to keep his eyes from shutting, and eventually saw JJ sitting in a chair beside him, her eyes focused on a magazine in her lap.

"J…" he started but was interrupted by a coughing fit.

JJ's eyes jerked up and she was suddenly standing, looking nervously at him. "Reid!"

She seemed to realize that his throat was very dry because she quickly turned to the bedside table and grabbed a tub of something. "Here," she said, reaching into the bowl. "Have a piece of ice. The nurse said you would want it."

Reid, though feeling quite embarrassed, allowed JJ to drop the ice chip into his mouth. The feeling of the cold liquid rolling down his throat was one of the most soothing feelings ever. Immediately, the burning in his throat subsided greatly.

"Thank you," he choked out.

JJ nodded and gently laid her hand on his. Reid had always liked JJ, and once as more than a friend, but he had grown to see her as his sister more than anything. She was the only person, apart from his mother, who ever called him "Spence" and he had always felt that she was the most understanding of the team. Maybe it was because she wasn't a full blown profiler but he also appreciated that fact that if he talked to her, it would truly feel as though she was just listening and not trying to read him. It was a nice change of pace when working with some of the most analytical minds in the world.

"How are you feeling?" she asked softly. "Need me to call the doctor?"

Reid slowly shook his head, trying to ignore the nausea that came with it. "How's Hotch?"

JJ's face changed and Reid knew right away that the news wasn't good. However, the look in her eyes was not one of deep sorrow that would be associated with the death of a close friend, and thus Reid was sure Hotch wasn't dead.

"He's alright," she said simply.

Reid frowned and continued to look at her. "What happened?"

JJ bit her lips. "Reid, you're still very weak and the Doctor said not to excite you. Everyone is fine though, I promise."

"You won't excite me," Reid said.

With this, Reid noticed a slight smile spread across JJ's face and wondered what had warranted it. It faded as quickly as it had come though and her face was, once again, serious.

"It was Foyet who had Hotch, but he dropped him off here at the hospital," she said wearily. "He's alright, though. He's been awake and talking and everything. He's fine Reid."

Reid knew she was leaving at least some information out, but the pain in his stomach was making it harder for him to focus. "F-foyet? Did you catch him?"

"No," JJ said. "He… we had reason to believe he was going after Hailey and Jack so… they've put them into a protection program with the Marshalls."

Reid clenched his eyes shut against the pain and this horrible news. Everyone knew what happened when people went under the Marshalls' protection; Hotch would not be seeing his family or hearing from them until he knew they were safe and dealing with Foyet, that could take a very long time. So, while he may have been physically fine, mentally he would be in much more pain than any wound could inflict.

"Reid, are you okay?" he heard JJ ask. "You don't look so good…"

Reid didn't fully comprehend what she was saying, though. All he could think about was Hotch. The man cared about only two things: his job and his family. Now, because of his job, his family was in danger. Foyet had already caused one agent to lose his mind over the sheer obsession of catching him, and if there was any way to get Hotch on that same boat, it was to go after his family.

"Reid?" he felt a hand clench tighter on his.

"Reid?! I'm calling the doctor."

The voice was far away now and Reid was okay with that. He wanted to disappear and escape from this reality which held all sorts of pain. He wanted to be there for Hotch, but had no idea how to. He wanted leave the hospital, but knew that wouldn't happen anytime soon. However, he also wanted to slip away into the peaceful darkness that was slowly engulfing him, and that was something he definitely could do.

* * *

"JJ, listen to me," Morgan said slowly, his hands grasping her shoulders. "Reid is going to be okay. You didn't do anything to him."

"I shouldn't have said anything about Hotch," she said. "He had just woken up…. I tried not to but it was the first thing he asked…"

"Hotch did the same thing to me in regards to Reid," Emily said, standing firmly beside Morgan. "They're great profilers whether they just got out of surgery or not. Even if you hadn't told him, he would've gotten worked up anyway because he knew something was wrong. He was the first person I told about Hotch being here so he knew. This wasn't your fault."

Morgan looked at Emily and was suddenly thankful she had shown up. He would've continued to try to comfort JJ but he felt like Emily could better connect. Either way, it sounded as though Reid was potentially still not doing so well and they needed to figure out what to do next.

"What did the doctors say?" he asked.

"They came in when one of the monitors started beeping," she began, Morgan already nervous as to where this was going. "They didn't seem too alarmed but it obviously wasn't a great thing. And… they said something about running tests…? It seemed like they were concerned they might have missed something during the surgery…"

Morgan listened carefully then looked at Prentiss who wore a similarly worried expression, but they were both trying to hide it.

"Well," Prentiss said slowly, "if they missed something, it's only a short walk up to surgery."

This clearly didn't do much to comfort JJ. "Another major surgery, back to back? That's a lot for the body to handle…"

"And Reid can handle it," Morgan interrupted, maintaining a calm demeanor. "You forget we're talking about Boy Wonder, here."

JJ quieted and seemed to calm down at least some. Morgan was worried too, of course, but they needed to hold it together. Morgan and Emily had both been with Hotch while JJ was with Reid; only one person was allowed to sit with Reid so they had sent JJ with the directions of keeping them updated. About an hour later, however, she had entered Hotch's room and asked Morgan to come outside where she said there was something going on with Reid. They had then went to level two where Reid was getting his tests done which had led to this point.

Still, Morgan felt as though he needed to go back and let the others know what was going on. It had been clear when JJ came into Hotch's room that something was wrong and Derek figured they had the right to know as well. And as much as he wanted to stay here until he had info about Reid, JJ needed Prentiss more right now.

"I'm going to run back downstairs and let the others know what's happening and then I'll be right back," he told them quickly. "Please let me know if anything changes but I should be back before then."

They both nodded and Morgan turned and headed towards the stairs. He found that elevators reminded him of Reid after being stuck in one with him and decided the stairs would be better until he knew Reid was okay.

When he made it down the one flight of stairs, he quickly made his way to Hotch's room and when he walked in, he immediately got the attention of both Hotch and Rossi.

"So?" Rossi asked, knowing exactly why Morgan had left and what his news was about.

"Apparently," Morgan said, wasting no time, "Reid woke up while JJ was in there, asked about you, Hotch, and when JJ told him, she said he clenched his eyes shut, looked like he was in a lot of pain and then one of his monitors started beeping."

Rossi was simply listening but Morgan hated the way Hotch's face managed to get even more serious as Morgan continued. It had been about an hour since Haley and Jack had left and so he was still very upset, even though he didn't show it.

"She said she heard them say something about maybe missing something during the surgery," Morgan continued. "They're testing him now and I guess we'll know soon whether he needs more surgery."

Rossi nodded but Hotch just stared.

"How much did she tell him?" Hotch asked.

Morgan bit his lip, wondering if Hotch was going to be upset with JJ. "She said she tried to avoid it but he wouldn't let her," he said first, trying to at least help JJ out some. "She said he knows about Foyet and… the Marshalls," Morgan said, deciding that was the easiest way of putting it.

Hotch nodded. "Go, and let me know the moment you find something out."

Morgan glanced at Rossi, who gave a silent nod, and turned away. He couldn't figure Hotch out right now. He was obviously concerned for Reid, but there was, of course, plenty more going on in his head. He had practically just lost his family for an unknown amount of time and he was still recovering from a violent attack. Still, after Hailey and Jack had left, Hotch had almost immediately returned to his stony-faced self that they all knew so well, but there was now a sense of sadness and fear in his eyes that scared Morgan more than anything.

Morgan sighed as he climbed up the stairs. Reid needed to be okay for all of their sake; Hotch was going to need them all.

* * *

**EN: **So, it isn't my favorite chapter but I needed it to set up for what I hope will be a better one and a bigger payoff! So definitely come back! Annnnd... I graduate from high school June 11th! So very ready. Just gotta get through the next three weeks of AP/IB exams.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: **Well, that took longer than I had wanted but I've been soooo busy with all of my finals. I also took a tour of my soon-to-be college, UCF (which I loved). Needless to say I'm a bit preoccupied with the passing of one phase of my life (tear) and the beginning of the next! That is not your problem, of course, which is why I made this chapter very long - as an apology! Ha, it's more... team based though and doesn't have a whole lot of action, but hopefully you guys enjoy the little insights into the characters. But if not... hopefully you'll still come back for the next one.

**Warnings: **Same stuff, really. Some medical stuff... no swearing. Spoilers for the season four finale and season five premier.

**Thanks: **HUGE thanks to Servant05 who did an extraordinary job with some medical questions I had. She did give the disclaimer that the info is to the best of her knowledge and I still could have misinterpreted so if there are mistakes with the medical info, do not blame her!! But, do thank her for it! And of course, thanks to all who read and reviewed! Always lovely!

Okay! That's it so enjoy!

* * *

Aaron Hotchner was at a loss. He wished he did not have to think, did not have to feel. Better yet, he wished none of this had ever happened and he could have both Haley and Jack beside him. While he certainly appreciated his team being there for him, people he did consider to be a part of his family, they did not possess the kind, beautiful eyes of his wife – ex-wife – nor did they have the innocence of Jack that Aaron found so refreshing.

Besides, not all of his team was there.

Aaron still did not know the complete story as to what had happened to his youngest agent and only knew that Reid was having additional tests done that would determine whether or not he would need more surgery. All of this made Aaron feel the most helpless he had ever felt. Not only had he watched his son and the woman he still loved walk out of his room, knowing he would not see or hear from then for an unknown amount of time, he now only knew small details on the condition of one of his agents. The youngest, no less. And on top of all of that, he could barely move without having pain shoot through his abdomen.

Aaron closed his eyes and let his head rest against the pillows.

"It will all work out, Aaron," Rossi said from his chair.

Aaron opened his eyes and looked at Rossi in thought for a moment. He wanted to believe him, and a part of him did, but it was honestly very hard in his current state. Still, he nodded slowly and looked away.

A moment passed in silence before Aaron heard someone enter his room. He turned his head slightly to see who it was and felt a split second of anxiety at the sight of Prentiss. He knew it would either be good news or bad news, and he could really use some good news.

"The tests came back and they're rushing him back to surgery," Emily sighed, her eyes full of concern.

Aaron's stomach, already the main source of his pain, tightened and he felt his hopes fail. It was not the worst possible news she could have given him but it was certainly not good.

"Well did they say anything else?" Rossi, now standing, asked. "Any idea on what went wrong?"

Prentiss half-shrugged. "Kind of. A nurse very quickly mentioned something about his lung and internal bleeding…" she trailed off, knowing that this explanation certainly didn't make the situation sound any better.

"Other than that… we have no idea," she finished. "Oh, this has been one hell of a day."

Aaron closed his eyes and once again let his head fall back against the pillows. One hell of a day was right, and it wasn't getting any better.

* * *

The dynamics of the BAU team would no doubt be seen as interesting to an outsider. Hell, David Rossi sometimes found them odd himself and not only was he an expert on human behavior, he was a part of the team. Still, there were days when even he was baffled by the manner in which the members of the team would act.

You see, in most groups, especially a team as close as the BAU, there were rather definitive roles that each person played and, for the most part, everyone was to stick to their own roles. For example, JJ was the motherly one; she kept them organized and always managed to keep them from getting too far into the minds of the criminals that they forgot the feelings of the victims and their loved ones. Reid, on the other hand, was sometimes so far into his own unique and gifted mind that he forgot everyone: victims, criminals and friends alike. Still, he was the ultimate brain of their little gang. The list went on: Morgan was the muscle, Hotch was the foundation and so on and so forth.

But there were days like today when the roles were switched up. It was almost to be expected, of course, given the situation but it still made Dave slightly uneasy. This scenario was even more twisted because almost everyone had personal conflicts in addition to the standard concern over colleagues and friends. Morgan was feeling somewhat responsible for what had happened to Hotch as Foyet had used Morgan's credentials, Prentiss was feeling guilty for leaving Reid, JJ was naturally too in touch with her emotions and Hotch, usually the rock that held everyone together, was reasonably too emotional to maintain his normal role.

That left Dave.

He honestly wasn't sure what his own role within the group was, but usually decided that if one of the others failed their roles, he would step in. And, given that most of them were in some way compromised, Rossi decided he would try to fill Hotch's shoes.

Of course, Rossi wasn't as good as Hotch was in terms of showing little to no emotion, but he was certainly more qualified at the given moment. The most recent news of Reid being taken back to surgery certainly made it all the more difficult, but the sight of his colleagues and friends growing more and more disheartened gave him the needed motivation.

They were currently all in the surgical waiting room, except, of course, for Aaron who was temporarily denied visitors as the nurses need to change his bandages. Dave looked around and the rest of his teammates and realized they had fallen in to a silence that was filled with negative vibes.

No longer able to simply sit and endure the silent pain of his friends, Rossi cleared his throat and began to speak.

"When Reid gets out of surgery, I doubt they'll let us see him right away," he began, ignoring the little voice that reminded him that the surgery may not end so nicely. "In which case, we should probably look at getting a good night's sleep. We're running on empty," he finished, briefly in awe over the fact that Canada seemed so long ago.

"We can't just leave them here," Morgan said, his voice low but stern.

JJ lowered her head into her hands and Dave knew she was thinking of her son and how she wanted to get back to him but how she also wanted to be here for Hotch and Reid.

"As I said," Dave said softly, not wanting to rub Morgan the wrong way. "I can almost guarantee that Reid won't be allowed visitors and normal visiting hours will be ending in about two hours."

"I'm sure they can make an exception…"

"Maybe Hotch needs some time," Emily interjected. "I mean, we've been by his side nonstop for hours. I definitely don't mind, of course, but maybe he would like some time to himself…"

Morgan seemed to consider this but Dave could tell he was not happy with the thought.

"How about this," Rossi started, trying to compromise. "Once we know how Reid is, we'll talk with Hotch and if we get the impression he needs the company, then one of us will stay. Otherwise, I think he'd agree with my beliefs that we need to rest. Besides," Dave said as an important though occurred to him, "we will all need to be on our best game as we revisit the Foyet case. That's the best way to help him."

This seemed to be something they all agreed on. Once Haley and Jack had been found safe, the idea of continuing the search for Foyet had been pushed aside in favor of being there for Aaron and concern for Reid. Their thoughts were interrupted, however, when an unknown voice said:

"Spencer Reid?"

Almost in unison, everyone stood up but it was Dave who spoke.

"Yes," he said, preparing himself for whatever news he was about to get.

The doctor looked at them for a moment and Dave couldn't quite tell if the news was going to be very good or just okay, but he knew that is wasn't terrible. "The surgery, overall, went well."

With this quick statement, the relief that filled the room was nearly palpable.

"A second surgery so soon after the first is never ideal, but in this particular case, we're lucky it won't be more."

Dave frowned at this statement. He knew that bullets could do quite some damage but he never really saw single gunshot wounds as needing several surgeries. In his mind, they could either save the patient or not.

"You see, the bullet that was used to shoot Dr. Reid was made to break apart after striking the target. We did know this during the first surgery which is why it took so long as we were repairing all of the individual wounds. What we didn't catch, however, is that one of the pieces apparently struck one of his ribs and mushroomed out even more than normal. Because the resulting pieces were exceptionally small, we were able to find all but one of them during the first surgery. That last piece, though very small, managed to cause a slight tear in Dr. Reid's lung, which then led to a rather slow bleed into his chest cavity."

Dave slowly let the air he had been holding escape from his lungs. Sometimes he wished the doctors wouldn't get into so much detail. It was one thing to hear about bullets and bleeding in someone's chest but it was completely different when he imagined little Reid cut open on the surgical table. Rossi had to hold back a wince at the thought.

"It was extremely lucky that he was taken for tests, though," the doctor continued. "From what I understand, the reason they were alarmed was unrelated to the tear in his lung."

"What do you mean?" JJ asked. Dave looked back at her and realized that what the doctor was saying could put her mind at ease.

"Well, after a major surgery, it's rather normal for the body to attempt to shut down in an attempt to heal," the doctor explained. "What happened then could've happened whether or not he still needed surgery. We're lucky it did, though, or else we may not have caught his condition in time."

Dave couldn't hold back a slight smile. After feeling so guilty about causing Reid to need additional surgery, not only was it not her fault, she may have inadvertently saved his life.

"Any questions?"

"He's expected to make a full recovery?" Emily asked quickly.

The doctor bit his lips and seemed slightly embarrassed. "Oh, my apologies. I didn't make that explicit, did I?" He took a deep breath and continued. "Yes, as long as he sticks to his plan for recovery, I expect a full recovery in time. Anything else?"

"When can we see him?" Morgan asked.

The doctor looked at a clock on a nearby wall and seemed surprised. "Wow, I didn't realize it was this late. Well, given the fact that he just completed his second surgery, we won't be allowing any visitors until sometime tomorrow when we're sure he's completely stable. We do normally allow one visitor for fifteen minutes after the patient wakes up, but given the time, I imagine they'll be keeping him rather sedated throughout the night. However, he will be back in recovery on level one tomorrow and the staff there will let you know what the rules are as far as visitation goes."

He paused for a moment and looked at them all, giving them time for any last minute questions.

"Is that all?" he asked, then continued. "Well, I do apologize we didn't catch that last piece sooner, but I assure you that my staff did the best they could. It was an unusual case. I also know that you all, especially Dr. Reid, are the reason that my colleague and his son are alive and safe, and for that, I thank you all. Please pass the word to Dr. Reid."

"We appreciate your work as well, Doctor," Dave said before reaching out to shake the man's hand. They all gave silent nods of goodbyes and when the doctor walked away, Dave joined the others in taking a moment to soak in the information.

It was good news, plain and simple. Needed good news at that. Reid was going to be okay. They had thought that once before, of course, but everyone seemed sure that this time it was certain.

"So," Emily spoke first with a lightness in her voice, "you saved Reid's life, JJ."

Dave turned around and was delighted to see a faint smile on JJ's face. That news had no doubt made her feel better about what had happened earlier.

"I still got him worked up," she said quietly.

"Which led to them finding the final tear," Dave interjected. "Do not under mind the small miracles of life."

This got an even bigger smile from the young blonde and Dave decided she was almost officially guilt-free. However, her smile reminded him immediately of Garcia who was stuck at the Bureau working another important case which was hopefully no longer in need of her services.

"So," Dave continued. "It's 7:45 which means we have fifteen minutes to talk to Hotch. After that, should anyone wish or feel the need to stay, they'll have to take it up with the nurses. Otherwise, I say we grab Garcia, have a quick dinner, then all go to sleep."

The mention of their beloved technical analyst seemed to spark their memory and Dave was sure they all felt a bit guilty for leaving her out. However, given just how much had happened that day, he somehow felt that Garcia would understand after they explained it to her.

"Shall we?"

* * *

Aaron's eyes wrenched open after once again being plagued with horrible dreams involving Foyet, Haley and Jack and even Reid. Nightmares were no stranger to him, even ones that involved people he cared about, but combined with the fact that his family was gone and he still didn't know the condition of his youngest agent, these particular nightmares were unbearable.

Aaron glanced at the clock on his bedside table which read 7:50 PM. The others had been gone for at least thirty minutes or so, most of which involved nurses changing his bandages and, of course, Aaron dozing off. He briefly wondered if he could call a nurse to go get information on Reid.

Just as he thought this, however, he heard people entering his room. He turned his head and saw JJ, Prentiss, Morgan and Rossi all standing near him and, to Aaron's great relief, all wearing smiles.

"He's okay," Rossi said happily. "They're sure of it this time."

The tension in Aaron's body lessened and with it went some of the pain caused by stiffness.

"What happened?"

"The bullet mushroomed out more than usual and they didn't catch the very last piece," Prentiss explained. "Thanks to Reid's little episode with JJ, however," she said, glancing over at JJ who smiled slightly and looked at the ground, "they managed to catch the slow bleed the piece caused."

Aaron nodded and allowed his head to rest against the pillows. Reid was okay. His family was still gone for the time being, but Reid was going to be okay. And for some reason, Hotch felt a sudden desire to see the young man for himself.

As though reading his mind, Rossi then said, "They said no visitors until maybe tomorrow, so, if you want someone to stay…"

"No," Hotch said, cutting him off. It wasn't to be rude, but he knew his team desperately needed sleep after one of their biggest cases in Canada, then his own condition and finally Reid. "I need you all to get sleep."

"Hotch, we don't mind…" Morgan began, but once again, Aaron shook his head.

"I need you all to be able to perform your jobs to the best of your abilities, and that means you get sleep. You know this."

Aaron looked at everyone one of them and saw them nod. He did appreciate their offers to stay with him, but he could use some time to himself anyway. Besides, he was feeling extremely tired.

"That settles that!" Rossi announced, looking at the others. Aaron realized then that Rossi had already told them they would be going home tonight.

"You call if you need anything, Hotch," Morgan said as he gave a strong nod.

JJ approached Aaron's bed then and laid a soft hand on his. "We're here for you."

Prentiss nodded in agreement and Rossi gave him a well-known look that said everything he needed to say. They all then began to leave but before they did, Aaron cleared his throat.

"Guys," he said, then waited until he had regained their attention. "You've all done exceptional work over the past few days. I'm very proud."

While he meant every word, it had been surprisingly hard to say. Aaron knew it was because of his own emotional state but he still tried to maintain a neutral appearance. They seemed to understand, however, and before he knew it, Aaron was once again alone in his room.

This time, though, when he closed his eyes, he didn't see terrifying images of the past couple of days and instead fell into a deep and much needed sleep.

* * *

**EN: **That's all for now! Again, I hope you liked it. I know it was a little on the slow side again, but... I still hope some of you liked it. If it wasn't your cup of tea, the next one should have a bit more action/dialougue and less internal stuff so come back!! Okay, thanks for reading and if you got a second, review! If not, hope you come back for the next one!


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: **So... an odd thing happened. I sat down to write this chapter and before I knew it, I was at like... almost 4000 words which is about double my normal chapter length. So... deciding I would rather post another chapter as opposed to having an abnormally loooong chapter, I split it up. Not to worry though, I don't plan on making you guys wait the normal amount of time for the next one, especially since it's complete. And, just for your information, there will be two more chapters. I'm rather certain of this.

**Warning: **A _little _bit shorter than the others, but as I said, the original chapter was odd in the first place and the next will be posted very soon. There is one curse word in here... um, self-beta'd. Yeah...

Okay, have fun!

* * *

Silence.

That was the first thing Dr. Spencer Reid was aware of. The world around him was so quiet he began to wonder if something had happened to his hearing. Slowly, however, be became aware of a few sounds, mostly rhythmic beeping and the low hum of rushing air. The latter sound, combined with the feeling of cool, but soothing air flooding his nostrils let him know he was in the hospital.

Unfortunately, with that last realization also came the awareness of the pain. It did not take him long to remember that he had been shot and taken to the hospital, but something seemed off. He could have sworn he had already woken up once and talked to JJ, which would have meant he was done with surgery. And yet, he was sure he was only just now waking up from surgery.

His thoughts confused him. JJ had seemed so real and yet so did the tell-tale signs of first waking up after surgery. His throat was coarse, he was still groggy from what he was sure were lasting effects of anesthesia, and he was still having oxygen fed into his body.

He began to try to move, but stopped when crippling pain shot through his stomach. He sat for a moment, eyes still closed, trying to catch his breath. He finally began to relax some, but just as he did, he felt someone enter the room. He waited for a moment, thinking it was perhaps one of his teammates, but when he heard strange clanking sounds, he slowly forced his eyes open.

His standard hospital room was dimly lit and the hallways outside of his room were rather desolate, alerting Reid to the fact that it was mostly likely really late or else really early. Slowly, his eyes wandered over to the figure standing at the foot of his bed.

Definitely the outline of a man, Reid studied him a bit further and realized, by the silhouette of a lab coat, that the man was a doctor. There was something familiar about him though…

"Dr. Reid?" the man said after noticing Reid was awake. Right away, Reid realized it was Dr. Barton.

"How are you feeling?" he asked as he came closer to Reid.

Reid opened his mouth to talk, but choked on the dryness of his throat.

"Ah, dry mouth," Dr. Barton said. "My apologies. I should have been more prepared for that," he continued light-heartedly as he grabbed a glass of water, already equipped with a straw, and held it up to Reid's mouth. "I don't usually handle the patients after surgery."

Reid slowly took a sip of the water and was thankful for the confirmation from Barton; he had recently undergone surgery. So, either that meant his talk with JJ had been a figment of his imagination or else Reid had undergone two surgeries.

"Feel better?" Barton asked.

Reid slowly nodded. "Yes," he said then cleared his throat. "Thank you."

Dr. Barton nodded and went back to the end of Reid's bed to grab his medical chart.

"My shift starts in about an hour so I was just looking at your chart and it looks like this surgery went well and they expect a full recovery," he said with a smile. " I guess you've technically already heard that after the first surgery, and I'm certain your surgeon will explain in better detail, but you're going to be just fine, Dr. Reid."

Confirmation number two: there had been two surgeries. Regardless, it was good news, of course, but there was still one thing bothering him. Reid swallowed and spoke again.

"There's a patient here," he started, then cleared his still dry throat the best he could, "another agent…"

"Agent Hotchner, I believe it was?"

"Yes," Reid replied, relieved that Dr. Barton knew who Reid was talking about without a whole lot of explanation. "How is he?"

Dr. Barton bit his lips, which made Reid slightly nervous. "I'm not exactly sure," the doctor began, "I didn't check his charts or talk to his doctor, but I did stop by early yesterday."

Reid, though curious of why Dr. Barton had stopped by Hotch's room, decided to overlook the detail.

"And?" he pressed.

"And it would appear as though, and I remind you I do not have the facts," he added, "he was stabbed several times."

The breath caught in Reid's throat. Foyet's signature was stabbing. Still, Reid was sure JJ had said Hotch had been awake and talking, but that conversation was also hazy at best.

"Whoa, Agent," Dr. Barton said quickly in response to the hastening speed of the beeps from one of Reid's monitors. "He was awake when I went by. Awake, talking… lucid, even. Better than you, I would say. Which would suggest that the stab wounds did not affect any of his major organs. And if that is the case, I would imagine Agent Hotchner will even be discharged before you."

Reid sighed, feeling both relieved and confused. Foyet had certainly demonstrated that he was capable of inflicting several non-fatal stab wounds but had only done so to himself. So, the fact that he had, most likely, done the same to Hotch would mean that Hotch was his newest obsession. And the fact that Haley and Jack were now in the protection program only supported that theory.

"You guys are pretty close, huh?" Dr. Barton asked, drawing Reid out of his thoughts.

"Yes," Reid said softly. "Like family."

"I would imagine so," the doctor said as he again came closer to Reid. "With a job like yours, I'm sure having a good relationship with the people you work with is necessary."

"It is," Reid answered without any thought. And it was true; if he couldn't trust the members of his team, he would have nothing. Likewise, if they weren't all close, so many cases would have ended tragically. Right away, Reid remembered how Hotch had figured out the clues Reid had hidden in an insult when he was kidnapped by Tobias Henkel. If Hotch hadn't truly known Reid, he would've likely died in the graveyard that night.

"Well, Agent… Doctor, whatever you prefer," Dr. Barton said with a smile, "I truly cannot thank you enough for what you did for me. Whenever I saw that man standing there with a gun, all I could think about was how Jeffery was going to grow up without both of his parents," he said quietly. "You made it possible for him to grow up with at least one of us. That means more to me than anything."

Reid, speechless by the surprise of his gratitude, just stared for a moment as he tried to gather his thoughts. Truthfully, pain was beginning to take over once again, as was fatigue.

"There's… there's no need to thank me, Dr. Barton," he said, fumbling over his words. "It's my job to save people."

Dr. Barton nodded, "That's my job too and while I'd like to think I would've done the same thing for you, I'm honestly not sure I would have."

Reid smiled. "Well, I hope you never have to find out."

Barton laughed at this. "I guess this is goodbye for now," he said, replacing Reid's chart in its holder. "You look like you could use some more sleep, anyway. I'm sure you're still feeling a bit out of it from the anesthesia and it_ is_ very early in the morning. So, rest and don't hold me to it, but I'd imagine you'll be allowed visitors tomorrow. Your teammates are all eager to see you."

Reid smiled in return and relaxed against his pillows, feeling more and more groggy by the second. "Thank you," he said quietly.

"No, thank you," Barton replied before giving a small wave as he left the room.

As thoughts of Barton, his son, Hotch and Foyet raced through his head, all trying desperately to keep him awake, the exhaustion Reid was feeling had a greater effect. Slowly, he felt his eyelids get too heavy to hold open and his aching body sink further into the sheets. And before he realized it, he was out.

* * *

**EN: **OKay, that's it for now. As I said, expect the next one soon (I will say though, reviews will make it come out very fast. I know, it's a shameful statement, but it's also the truth.) Regardless, however, I'll probably post the next one tomorrow or something. But please keep in mind, this chapter and the next one were originally meant to be one. They split nicely logically, but I write my chapters to have the same overall tone and so this chapter and the next will have the same tone. Hopefully that doesn't throw anyone out... Okay! Review if you can, if not, thanks for reading and please come back for the rest!


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: **As promised, a quick upload as this chapter was originally a part of the lest chapter. So, not a whole lot to say at this point.

**Thanks: **As always, thanks to EVERYONE who has read this story and and even BIGGER thanks to those who have reviewed it! The reviews make my day! So thanks to all of you.

Aaand... yeah. Read and enjoy!

* * *

Emily Prentiss had an odd relationship with hospitals. It was common for people to hate them, especially people with jobs like hers where they constantly find themselves in them, be it for a victim, a friend or even themselves. But Emily didn't loathe them. She didn't like them, but she didn't hate them either.

For her, they were life contained in small buildings. Life began in them and life ended in them. Major choices were made in hospitals, choices that could change a person's life forever, for better or for worse. Here, the filthiest of the criminals were both patients and the reason there were patients, and they were in the same building with some of the most selfless people who would give their own life for another. Hospitals housed humanity at its worst and at its best. To hate hospitals altogether, to Emily, would be to hate humanity.

Still, she didn't always like them. For example, she didn't like them now when two of her coworkers and closest friends were stuck in them, recovering from unfortunate incidents. Hotch's wounds were more mental than Reid's more physical ailments, but nonetheless, they were both in pain. In cases like these, Emily wished there was no need for hospitals.

Regardless, they existed and she was currently in one. It was early, only around nine in the morning, and she realized that no one else from the team had shown up yet. She didn't exactly know their plans but given that Straus had granted the team the rest of the week off at least, she knew they'd be showing up sooner or later.

Emily made her way to the section of the hospital where both Hotch and Reid were being temporarily housed and momentarily considered where to go first. She wasn't sure if Reid was even allowed visitors yet, but if he was, she really wanted to see him.

On the other hand, she could just go see Hotch for a minute to check on him, and then see if Reid was allowed visitors. She decided that was the best idea and immediately made her way to Hotch's room.

It was always strange to see Hotch in a vulnerable state. It happened very rarely and when it did, it had everyone on edge. Any of the team being hurt was never good but when it was Hotch, it affected them all in a different way. He was the stony glue that kept them together; he was the foundation.

As she passed into his room, she was pleased to see that he was still asleep. She walked in closer and observed him for a moment and was further pleased to see that his face was not as tight with pain and worry as it had been every other time she'd seen him.

After a moment of her standing there, however, he began to stir.

"Prentiss," he said softly, obviously still tired.

"Good morning, Hotch," she said cheerfully. "You look better today."

He didn't reply, just nodded slightly.

"Heard anymore about Reid?"

Emily shook her head but wore a smile; of course one of the first things he'd ask about was Reid's condition. "Nope, not since last night," she replied. "I was going to stop by though after I came by here…"

Hotch nodded and closed his eyes for a moment. "Go see what you can find out."

Emily waited for a moment, feeling like she needed to say something else. "Can I get you anything?"

Hotch opened his eyes and looked at her. "No, but thank you." Then, after Emily nodded, he added, "Now go see how Reid is and let me know."

"Yes sir," Emily replied before turning and heading for the front desk.

Once she got there she asked the woman behind the counter, "Where is Spencer Reid's room and is he allowed visitors?"

The woman consulted her computer for a second before looking up at Emily. "It says he is currently allowed visitors, after speaking to his doctor, and he is in room 115. But if you would like to have a seat in the waiting room, I'll let Dr. Lansley know you're here to see him."

"Thank you," Emily replied then found a nearby and sat down. Dr. Lansley did not make her wait for very long at all and Emily assumed it was because the hospital was oddly empty. Not even ten minutes had passed before a young female doctor was walking towards Emily.

"Are you here for Dr. Spencer Reid?"

Emily stood and replied, "Yes I am."

"Okay," the doctor began, checking a folder she held in her hand. "The surgery was successful and after doing another test about an hour ago, it would seem they did in fact get everything repaired the second time around. He's resting now and will be very sore for a while. We will need to keep him under observation for another day or two, after that we may hold him a little longer, just to be sure he's healing properly, but we do expect a full recovery and he should be out of here within a week."

Emily sighed a sigh of relief. "That's… excellent news," she said with a big smile. "May I go see him?"

"Yes," the woman replied, "but we are keeping it down to one person at a time and only for fifteen minutes or so. But we will most likely apply our standard visitation rules by the end of the day. It's standard protocol to keep visitation limited for about 24 hours after a major surgery, especially since he just underwent two of them."

"I understand," Emily said, her spirit a little dampened by the reminder of what Reid's already frail-looking body had just endured.

"Alright, he's right this way."

Emily followed the woman down the hallway towards Hotch's room but made an addition turn down a separate hallway.

"He's been waking up quite a bit," the doctor said as they slowed down in front of room 115. "He asked to keep the narcotics down to a minimum and as a result, the pain is keeping him up. I try not to question wishes such as that but because of it, I may end up being more lenient with visitors sooner than I normally would; loved ones help keep the patient's mind off the pain which will obviously make him more comfortable."

Emily nodded, only briefly thinking about how much she hated Reid's refusal of helpful drugs, but the thoughts were pushed aside when the woman gestured for her to walk in.

"I'll have a nurse come by in about fifteen minutes, give or take," she said before walking away.

Emily took a deep breath and entered Reid's room. It was a standard hospital room, nearly identical to Hotch's. The only difference was Reid's bed was angled a little more away from the entrance, making her sight of him limited when she first walked in.

As she neared his bed, the first thing she noticed was that his eyes were open and they quickly found hers.

"Hey," she said awkwardly but with a smile. "I didn't expect you to be awake."

He shrugged tiredly and said, "Is that a bad thing?"

She laughed and came to rest right beside his bed. "Of course not. It was a pleasant surprise."

"Nice to see you too," he replied with a smile, then yawned. "How's Hotch?"

Emily frowned. She knew this would come up but she only wished she could enjoy seeing him awake and talking to him before bringing up the very unfortunate situation of their boss.

"He's… you know," she started, trying to find the best words. "Physically, he's really not too bad. He's actually probably better than you. Mentally…? Emotionally…?" she trailed off.

"But Haley and Jack are safe?" Reid asked.

"Yes," she answered. "They're safe but in the hands of the Marshalls now. That has to be worse than the stab wounds."

Reid nodded in agreement. "Men naturally undertake the responsibility of the protector and provider," Reid explained absentmindedly in the way he always did. The topic wasn't too pleasant but Emily loved seeing him act Reid-like in juxtaposition to his unnatural lethargy of post-surgery. "It's seen in the wild constantly. He, no doubt, feels as though he has failed his role as a husband, or I guess ex-husband, I should say, and father."

Emily nodded. Yes, Haley and Hotch were technically divorced but everyone knew that there was still love there. Haley just couldn't handle the demands of the job. Emily sighed as she thought about how the exact job she tried to escape from had put her in the protection program. That would, of course, only add to Hotch's guilt.

"I'm not saying he did fail those responsibilities, though," Reid added quickly, "Because I think he did the right thing. I was just saying…"

"Reid," she said softly, calming him down. "I know what you meant. None of us blame Hotch except for, well, himself."

Reid nodded sadly and they both fell quiet. Emily took the opportunity to look him over more. His skin was paler than normal, which was saying something, and he looked the very definition of physically weak. Add on the wires attached to his chest, the oxygen tube running under his nose and creases from pain around his eyes and she had the full image of a post-operative Spencer Reid. And she didn't like it. Reid was suppose to be the energizer bunny, sprouting out tons of useless information, most of which she didn't even understand be it from the big words or the rate at which he said it. Either way, that was not the Reid lying before her.

"So," she said, finally acknowledging what she felt was an elephant in the room. "I owe you an apology."

Reid frowned and looked genuinely confused. He stared at her for a moment with a look that made Emily feel like she was one of his little problems he was trying to solve. Apparently it was to no avail, however.

"For what?" he asked, still frowning.

Emily took a deep breath and stood up. "I don't know…," she started, trying to think of the best way to say it. "For leaving you and Barton there alone. I mean, I know it was Hotch but I shouldn't have left you and him there without any backup and…"

"Wait," Reid interjected, the rare harshness to his voice taking Emily by surprise. "You're apologizing for staying with Hotch?"

"I… well," she stumbled, trying to find the right words.

"No," he interrupted again. "Not only did you do the right thing by staying with Hotch as I'm sure it led to his family being found safe, the fact that you stayed also led to the discovery of what L.C. stood for and that was the only reason I realized the unsub was after Dr. Barton. So, with decision to stay with Hotch, you may have inadvertently saved at least three lives and helped out Hotch at the same time."

He said all of it very quick and as he did, Emily saw the most energy displayed than she had the entire visit. He was very serious about what he was saying and though it was a rather uncommon outburst for the normally passive Reid, Emily knew it was a display of the fierce loyalty he had towards his teammates. Spencer Reid was many things, but when it came to friends, Emily was sure he'd do anything for them, even if he didn't know the best way to go about it.

Emily smiled then as she thought about all of the times she'd known he had wanted to comfort or help one of them, but he just never knew how to do it. He could look at a person and analyze them down to their shoes, but when it came to making an emotional connection with someone, Reid had problems. It was certainly not from lack of caring, just lack of knowledge in that one area.

"Thank you, Reid," she said finally, knowing that even if she did still have doubts about her actions, bringing them back up would not help Reid's mood at all.

Reid nodded and relaxed into his pillows once again. Apparently, the little outburst had made him tired because Emily noticed that his eyelids were starting to droop. She watched him for a moment but was interrupted by a nurse.

"It's time for Dr. Reid to rest," the nurse said quietly to Emily.

Emily nodded and looked at Reid again who was visibly losing the battle against sleep.

"Stop fighting it and just go to sleep," she said with a smirk. "We'll be checking on ya throughout the day, so save your energy."

He smiled and nodded slowly.

Emily began to make her way out the door and with one last look before she left, considered the irony of how even though they all thought of him as "the kid" of the team, he had truly become a very strong, capable agent and person in general.

* * *

**EN: **Hope you all liked it. I really wanted to have Reid and Prentiss talk. They always interested me because they didn't get off to the best of starts, but ever since the "Minimal Loss" episode, there's been a certain connection. Anyways, I've saved the best interaction for last (hopefully) so read, review if you can, and come back for the last chapter! Thanks to all!


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: **Hold on, guys 'cause this one's a doosy! Almost 3000 words! The longest chapter yet but also the last one. I'm honestly proud of it but it's a bit... emotional so I hope that I managed to keep the boys in character! Hopefully enough to satisfy at the very least.

Um... everything else is the same. No additional warnings or anything.

So, I give the the ending to **Too Much at Once **(one of my favorite stories with one of my least favorite titles!)

Please enjoooy!

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Another day had passed; a day full of his team coming in and out, rotating between his and Reid's room. The fact that Reid was now securely on the road to recovery made their visits and the overall atmosphere more pleasant because there was nothing major to worry about anymore. Of course, Foyet was still out there with Aaron's family as his ultimately target and that had them all worried, but his family was about as safe as they could be given the situation and now the whole team was safe as well.

So, despite the pain and guilt that still tore at Aaron, even he had to admit that there was less to worry about now that Reid was okay.

Hotch had been longing to see him, though. Every time he went to sleep, he had nightmares, many of which were about Reid dying if they weren't about his family. Half the time, Aaron would wake up wondering if Reid was alive or dead. He felt like if he could just see him, he would automatically feel better.

But, he hadn't been allowed to venture out of his room yet which meant he could only hear about Reid's condition from the rest of the team and as far as he knew, Reid was doing pretty well.

For the first half of the day after Reid's surgery, few visitors had been allowed in his room so most of the team had stayed with Hotch. Then, late yesterday, Reid had been granted regular visitation conditions which meant that about half of them stayed with Hotch while the others went with Reid, and they would rotate.

But today, Hotch was determined to see Reid for himself.

Truthfully, he didn't feel nearly as bad as he had the previous days. In fact, he was actually able to move without feeling copious amounts of pain shoot through him. Without a doubt, his body was healing and he couldn't really imagine why they wouldn't let him go see Reid for even a few minutes.

"What are you thinking about?" Rossi asked, apparently noting Aaron's state of deep thought.

"I want to see Reid for myself," Aaron answered simply.

Dave didn't say anything right away, just observed Aaron. "Still having nightmares about him?"

Aaron didn't answer him, just looked into his eyes. Rossi was one of the most capable profilers there were so he would naturally know much of what his teammates were going through without them having to say anything.

"I've seen him myself, Aaron," Rossi continued. "He's looking better every day. He can even stay up for more than thirty minutes at a time the last I checked."

Hotch closed his eyes for a minute. "I still want to see for myself," he repeated.

"I didn't say you shouldn't. I actually think it would do you both good," Rossi retorted which made Aaron look at him. How would it do Reid any good?

"He's worried about you, too, Aaron," Rossi explained. "You have to understand, he's also only heard your condition from others and knows that you're going through a hard time. So, I think it would be good for both of you."

Aaron nodded and decided he should have figured that from the beginning. Aaron knew his situation was bad; his home had been invaded, he was tortured and stabbed several times, his family was now in danger and in the protection program and most importantly, the man who did all of it was still at large. He knew his team would be deeply concerned for him, especially Reid who was still very much so in the dark. In essence, he and Reid were in similar boats in terms of needing to see each other.

"I'll tell you what," Rossi said, interrupting Aaron's thoughts. "I'll go talk to some people, see what I can do, and I think I'll grab the others and we'll go for some lunch."

Hotch suddenly felt a wave of gratitude for the subtle abilities of David Rossi. He almost always knew exactly what needed to be done and managed to do it without anyone really noticing he had been there.

"Thank you."

"Anytime. I'll see you in a bit," Rossi replied before leaving Hotch's room.

Aaron didn't know how he did it, but not even ten minutes later, a nurse came strolling into Aaron's room pushing a wheelchair. The wheelchair didn't bother him though because he had known it would be the only way they'd let him out of his bed.

"Somebody called for a taxi?" the male nurse said pleasantly. "I believe I am to take you to room 115."

"Is that Dr. Reid's room?"

"I believe so, yes sir," he answered as he brought the wheelchair right up to Aaron's bed. "Now, you've only been permitted to go for fifteen minutes, so keep that in mind."

Aaron nodded, knowing there was no sense in fighting the rules established in the hospital. He gingerly, with the aid of the nurse, began to sit up and slowly transferred himself into the wheelchair. It hadn't been nearly as painful or difficult as it had been the few times before when he had to go to the restroom; definitely a sign of improvement.

"Alright, let's go," the man said as he began to push Aaron into the hallway, a place he hadn't been to yet, at least not while he was conscious, and then down the hallway. Before he knew it, they were slowing down in front of a room that looked just like his own. Beside the door a little plaque read "REC 115."

Aaron was then pushed into the room, allowing him his first glimpse of Reid. Due to the angle, however, he could really only see Reid's chestnut, straggly hair.

"Dr. Reid," the nurse said as he pushed Hotch further into the room. "You've got a special visitor."

Finally, Aaron was able to see Reid's face and was utterly pleased to see that the young man was awake and looking relatively well.

"Fifteen minutes, agents," the nurse said as he locked the wheels on Aaron's chair, then turned around and exited the room.

"Hotch," Reid said softly. "How are you?"

Aaron could sense the undertones of the question; he wasn't just asking about Aaron's stab wounds. Hotch took the opportunity to further examine his youngest agent. He was pale, no doubt from his continued recovery and he still had a nasal tube running over his ears and below his nose. Hotch did remember Prentiss saying something about his lung, so it made sense for them to still have him on extra oxygen. At least it wasn't a breathing tube.

"I'm okay, Reid," he somewhat truthfully. "What about you?"

Reid shrugged slightly. "It was my first major surgery."

"And two back-to-back, no less," Hotch added.

Reid shrugged again in response. "What is that saying?" he asked, "Go big or go home?"

Aaron smiled at this little idiom, thinking it was not usual for Reid but a nice little surprise. "Well, to be honest, I would have preferred you to just go home this time."

Reid smiled and seemed to agree.

"But I heard what you did," Aaron continued, getting a bit more serious. "And I'm very proud of you."

The young man seemed to be embarrassed at the compliment as he smiled and looked away for a moment. Aaron knew Reid was, against all odds given that he was one of the smartest men out there, quite humble and therefore didn't exactly embrace compliments. It was a quality Aaron hoped he would never lose. Although, he wouldn't mind if Reid gained a little more confidence in himself.

Silence fell over them for a short amount of time and Aaron was well aware that Reid wanted to say something, but was either holding back or else trying to determine the best way to say it.

"Hotch," he started slowly, his eyes wandering away from Aaron's face. "I… wanted to say something."

Aaron shifted in his chair, knowing that it was about to get slightly uncomfortable for both of them. It was notorious of the BAU team to be rather inept, with the exception of maybe a few people, at sharing each their feelings so it would naturally be uncomfortable in such an intense situation as this.

"Go ahead," Hotch said softly.

Reid bit his lips and waited for a moment, took a deep breath and began speaking. "I… I heard what happened and, I'm really sorry it did happen, of course, but what I really want to say is that… I know how it feels to be tortured… to be the victim."

Aaron frowned at this. Sure, he had suspected for Reid to talk about Hotch's encounter with Foyet, but Reid rarely brought up what happened in Georgia or anything that personal in general.

"I'm not saying I know how you feel exactly," he quickly added, almost as though he thought he had already upset the senior agent, which he hadn't. "Because… well, it only happened to me. I don't really have much of a family to be in danger and the unsub isn't still out there," he explained softly. Aaron knew that he was only trying to establish that Hotch was going through something beyond his own experience, and it was a nice gesture but Aaron knew what he meant.

"I just… well, BAU agents don't really have the best track record with life after being the victim, do they?" he said with a very uncomfortable and forced smile, alerting Aaron to the fact that what he was saying was bringing him much discomfort.

"What do you mean, Reid?"

Reid shifted in his bed, wincing at the pain it caused. "Think about it, after Elle got shot, she was never the same. And she ended up, well…," he trailed off and Aaron knew he was implying their certainty that Elle had killed a man she thought to be the unsub after he had been set free "She got into some trouble and left. Gideon… he left. And me…," he trailed off again and Aaron was almost certain he was fighting back tears.

"I just," he started again, seemingly pulling himself back together. "I've been thinking about it ever since I heard about what happened to you and you went through so much more than all of us, really. You're still going through it. And, if our experiences led us to… where we are, I really don't want to think about how you must be feeling."

He finally looked at Aaron and Aaron could see the intense pain in his eyes. He knew that Reid thought this conversation was of the highest importance because if he didn't, there was no way he would be bringing up so many of his own painful memories.

"I'm not saying that you'd do anything… bad," he quickly clarified. "I guess I just want you to know that I understand what you're going through, at least to an extent and if you ever… you know…," he trailed off once again and Aaron couldn't stand seeing him struggle so much anymore.

"Reid," he said calmly, but sternly, letting Reid know that what he was about to say was also very important. "I know what you're trying to say, and I appreciate it, but I need you to know something."

Immediately, Aaron saw some form of fear in the young agent's eyes as he apparently assumed he had offended Aaron in some way. Which couldn't have been further from the truth.

"The kind of things the members of this team, past and present, have been through," Hotch began, speaking slowly, emphasizing every word. "They are more mentally and emotionally damaging than most people can even imagine. That, on top of the fact that we see humanity at its very worst and therefore know exactly what may become of us when we find ourselves at the mercy of an unsub only adds to the severity of the experience."

Hotch did not allow any time for Reid to say anything, but he was pleased that the fear was subsiding in the young man's face.

"In my opinion, the only person who may have reacted poorly to their situation was Elle, simply because she likely ended up taking another man's life, something we are against," Aaron said, for the first time talking about Elle and her situation. But, in this case, it needed to be said. "Even then, she managed to walk away from the job. And Gideon, he did not react poorly necessarily, he just realized he couldn't continue this job and maintain who he was at the same time. To some, his reaction can be seen as a triumph."

Aaron took a deep breath as he came up to the most personal, but most important, part of his speech.

"And you, Reid," he began, noticing Reid tense up once again. "What you went through was about as bad as it could get for you. As you said, you do not have a wife or children, so what you went through was, for lack of better term, your own personal hell. And yes," Hotch continued, getting to the most uncomfortable part of the talk, "you fell victim to an unfortunate habit, which was almost expected given that Henkel had forced it on you to begin with."

Hotch took another deep breath and saw that Reid was now ashamed and embarrassed at the mention of his former addiction, but Aaron hoped to put his thoughts at ease with what he was going to say next.

"Reid, every single person, even us, would go through a rough patch following experiences like ours," he continued, his tone much softer now. "Nobody could simply get up and continue on like nothing had ever happened. But, it's what we do in response to those rough patches that determines who we are and how we handled the entire situation."

Reid looked at him now, slightly confused.

"Look at you right now, Reid," Aaron continued, gesturing at him. "You've been clean for years, you've denied helpful narcotics on more than one occasion when you could have really used them and most importantly, you're lying in a bed, having come very close to dying, because you were willing to sacrifice your own life for a man you barely even knew. Do you really consider who you are now a failure? Do you really think you responded badly to what happened to you, because I most certainly do not. And neither does anyone else on this team."

Aaron examined Reid, noting the one solitary tear that was rolling down his cheek, and hoped that he had gotten his point across.

"So yes," Hotch said after a few moments, "I will… inevitably, go through a rough time but I know that I will be able to pull through it, just as you did, Reid. I know my team will be there for me, just as we were there for you, and in the end everything will be okay."

Aaron finished and Reid nodded slowly, letting Aaron know that he had heard and understood what he was being told.

"Please know that I am extremely proud of you, Reid," he said finally. "What you've done over the past couple of years and what you did a few days ago proves that you have become a very valuable member of this team and one of the best agents the Bureau has seen. Never doubt that again."

"Yes sir," Reid said softly, again holding back on a few more tears that had accumulated in his eyes. "Thank you."

Aaron nodded slowly, "Thank _you, _Reid."

Silence once again fell over them but Aaron honestly didn't feel that it was very awkward this time. Yes, they had both went far more personal than either of them were comfortable with, but sometimes that was necessary and now was definitely one of those times.

They only had a few more minutes together before the male nurse reentered the room to take Aaron back to his own.

"You ready, Agent Hotchner?" the nurse asked as he unlocked the wheels and prepared to push.

Aaron, with one last meaningful glance at Reid, nodded.

Reid now understood something that Aaron thought was extremely important; how long he must of went thinking he had failed in responding positively to his kidnapping made Aaron feel guilty for having not made this clear earlier. Yes, the drugs had been a setback but an almost inevitable one. Reid's comeback, however, had been most admirable.

And, as Hotch got closer to his room, he realized that even though his goal had been to comfort Reid, he had actually learned a bit himself. Yes, things were going to get bad before they got better, but if Reid was able to return so strongly, Aaron simply did not see why he couldn't do the same.

With that hopeful thought, Aaron slowly climbed back into his bed and for the first time since the whole incident, he actually felt at least some peace come over him. They were all, eventually, going to be okay.

**End.**

**EN: **Did you like it? If you have never reviewed and feel up to it, please let me know what you thought of the overall story! And I'm always worried about my endings, so let me know what you guys thought of it por favor!

Well, another story down, I've got one more to finish (Enjoy the Silence) and I'm about to post the first chapter of a new story that has been sitting in my documents for almost a year! A little teaser? It's about two agents, trapped in the wilderness after a car crash (yes, one of those stories because I find it refreshing to not always have an unsub after them). So far, I really like it! Hopefully some of you will check it out.

Well, that's a wrap. Thank you so much to everyone who stuck with it! Peace and love!


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